No word on Bryant expected before Friday
(Agencies)
Updated: 2003-07-17 14:20

The county district attorney said Wednesday he had not decided whether to file criminal charges against Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant, who has been accused of sexually assaulting a woman.

District Attorney Mark Hurlbert said he probably won't announce his decision before Friday or early next week. "We're still looking at the evidence and gathering the facts," Hurlbert said.

Bryant was arrested July 4 on allegations he sexually assaulted the 19-year-old woman June 30 at the Lodge & Spa at Cordillera in nearby Edwards.

An attorney for the five-time NBA All-Star has said Bryant is innocent, and that he was in Colorado for knee surgery at a Vail clinic. In a brief interview with the Los Angeles Times, Bryant said he "would never do something like that."

Bryant attended the ESPY Awards in Los Angeles on Wednesday night, but avoided the media in his first public appearance since his arrest. He sat in the audience smiling and laughing with his wife, Vanessa. He was nominated for two awards.

A judge ordered all records in the case sealed at the request of the sheriff's office.

A hearing was scheduled for Thursday on a request from the Vail Daily and other newspapers to force Eagle County authorities to explain why law-enforcement dispatch records to the victim's home over the last year are being withheld.

In this mountain town about 100 miles west of Denver, the case has caused quite a stir.

Janelle Medina, 19, tools about town in her maroon Subaru Legacy sedan with " 8 Lakers!!" and "Kobe is innocent" painted on the windows.

"People think they're going to sit around and voice their opinions. Well I'm going to voice my opinions, too, on my car," Medina said.

Dozens of journalists from around the country stream through the middle-class cul-de-sac where the woman lives with her parents. Television satellite trucks are parked outside the county justice center, which houses both the district attorney's office and the sheriff's office.

Pedro Maldonado, a waiter and bartender at a Mexican restaurant, said the captive audience has helped business.

"You can never have too many tourists," he said.

While Glenn Lowe, the manager of the town's Best Western, appreciates the extra business, he's still sad to see it in his back yard.

"I think it's unfortunate for all those involved. The negativity of the circumstances are not a reflection of the area," he said.